Music of the vine closure

I guess we should have plan "B" for those times Music of the Vine is closed because of the weather. Sorry that we didn't all get there at the same time. we could have moved next door to the Grill or down the block to the espresso place.

I am not sure I will be able to meet next Thursday. I have a committee meeting with an MAT student finishing her thesis (Lisa Fisher). It will either Thursday or Friday at 4PM. If it is Thursday, I will let you know. It is important that you continue to make some comments on the blog because I need something to consider for grades (This means you, Elsje!)

Apple Article

Last week we talked about reading an article by either Henry Geroux or Michael Apple. I have linked to an article by Apple entitled “The Politics of Official Knowledge: Does a National Curriculum Make Sense?” The article is rather old (1993), but I think you will find it interesting. I am including a few questions that you can refer to as you read.

1) Writing 12 years ago, Apple makes some predictions as to where American education is headed. How accurate were his predictions? What did he anticipate and what did he miss?
2) Tripp called Apple a “critical theorist.” Does his approach in this article seem to be that of a critical theorist? Why or why not?
3) What does Apple mean when he talks about a “politics of official knowledge”? Do you see that idea having any impact on your teaching? On your research?
4) Apple seems to think there are possible advantages and disadvantages to a National Curriculum. What do you think? Do we have one now?
5) Apple tries to put educational reform into a political context. He describes two particular perspectives- Neoliberal and Neoconservative. Do you find this analysis convincing?
6) He claims that the policy positions like school choice, higher standards, standardized testing, national curriculum, core curriculum, etc. have been sold by Neoconservatives, but are, at base, contradictory. Why does he say this and is his argument convincing?
7) Apple does not attempt to hide his own political stance. Do you think this strengthens or weaken his argument?
8) Why is Apple against the notion of a “common culture”?
9) A central question for a critical theorist is, “Whose interests are being served?” How does Apple answer that question?
10) Apple wrote this article before NCLB. What might he say about it?

Directed Reading: Critical Pedagogy

I thought I would get us started by reading an article by David Tripp called "Critical Theory and Educational Research." You can get to it by clicking on the link below. I think the article has enough "meat" to it that we can find much to comment on. I chose the article because I think both of you are interested in doing research that is "socially critical" in the way Tripp describes that term. I wonder if you agree? He states that socially critical research is interested in both challenging and changing current practice. Do you think that applies to your projects? If so, are there ways you could apply the "methodological principles" he describes?
Comments?

Glad We Met

I am glad we had a chance to meet yesterday. I think our decision to meet "face-to-face" on Thursdays is a good one! It will make the blog discussions easier. I hope both of you got the e-mail with the APA template and the thesis outline. If you have a chance, e-mail me either your "proposals" or your latest thinking before Thursday. See you then.

Since Friday didn't work.....

Is this Thursday too late for us to meet? I was thinking if we plan far enough in advance, we would be more likely to meet. If not, can we meet briefly, like this Monday, at 4:00 p.m. before our MAT seminar? Elsje, if we don't here from you before then, I will call or e-mail you to talk about it. What do you think Don? Can you be there Monday, just to touch base at least?

Can we meet on Friday?

I figured out how to post by accident, but I thought I would try it out in order to practice. I don't have school on Friday, as it is a comp day for parent teacher conferences. Would that work for a meeting day? As far as a time is concerned, I am fairly open. How about 10:00 or 11:00 a.m.? Maybe we can figure out a time that will work best for all of us.

Can we find a time to meet?

I know that this is break week, but I was hoping the three of us could find a time to meet. I wonder if it might not be a good idea to meet at the TLC, so we could have a computer to fool around with. I would like all of us to become more familiar with this whole blog thing! I talked to Patti yesterday and she would like to join us so you could connect with her on the "Advanced Curriculum" class.

Next Step

I am glad to see that all of us have been able to access the blog. I have tried to add both of you as "members" so that you can add your own posts as well as comment on my posts. You should be receiving an e-mail asking you to join and add a password.

I added my photo of Molly just to see how to add a photo! Of course, she may want to make a comment from time to time.

I agree with Elsje's comment that we should try to meet face-to-face over a glass of wine. Maybe this friday after school at "The Willows"?

In the meantime, it would make sense to me if each of you gave me an update as to where you are in your proposal/research. Would it be possible to e-mail me your proposals as attachments? Maybe we could start to brainstorm some directions?
Don